Ihre Einschläge können verheerende Folgen für Mensch und Natur haben, denn schon seit Jahrmillionen kommen Asteroiden unserer Erde immer wieder gefährlich nahe. Wie können wir uns vor der Bedrohung dieser teils immer noch unerforschten Himmelskörper schützen? Ob es Möglichkeiten gibt, Asteroiden zu zerstören oder umzuleiten, zeigt der ehemalige Astronaut und Experte für Raumfahrttechnik Prof. Dr. Ulrich Walter in der neuen Folge "Spacetime".
For centuries man has gazed at the stars. For centuries the universe has fascinated us and given rise to numerous questions. What is still out there? How did it all originate? Where do we come from? But we also live in permanent danger. Along with us, millions of objects are hurtling through space: meteorites, comets, asteroids. Some of them we know. Others have yet to be discovered. The biggest of them are true killers. If they hit the Earth, it could mean the end of mankind.
We search for asteroids and observe them, calculate their orbits, and assess how dangerous they are. We can even land on them. But not every object coming from outer space is discovered.
And when heavenly bodies come too close to the Earth they pose a real threat.
